Self Made: NASE's Blog

Welcome to the Self Made. This is a blog focused primarily on the self-employed and micro-business and full of fantastic posts by not only our team of experts but by YOU! We realize that there are many ways to help the small businesses out there which is why we invite other business minded individuals to post here and help the rest of the community as well.

Last week, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), an advocacy and research organization for entrepreneurs, partnered with Fundable, a crowdfunding platform partner focused exclusively on startup companies, to launch a contest helping startups and existing business fundraise to start or grow their company.

Posted by Javan Porter - If President Obama is the coach of the team for creating new jobs, his quarterback is small business. The coach may lay out the game plan but small businesses play the game. Small businesses have created two-thirds of new jobs in America. The President as the coach understands the importance of such a strong quarterback and has issued a proclamation announcing this year’s National Small Business Week for June 17th to 21st.

As a micro-business owner, you must make difficult decisions that carry ramifications that reach far beyond your office walls. Although the high health insurance costs that your employees face may worry you, an opportunity for you as the business owner to offer assistance is through a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA).

A buzz has been created recently as reports that the U.S. Treasury’s funding of the Small Business Lending Fund grew by over $1.5 billion between the third and fourth quarter last year. This is exciting as getting funding to local banks and community development loan funds and in the hands of America’s smallest business is a great way to stabilize and grow the U.S. economy. Getting money to the self-employed will lead to more jobs and stronger communities.

Well, it's here. April 15th and the tax return is due today. My guess is that a bunch of us have not completed all of the detail that we had hoped to and now we're not sure what to do. First, don't panic!